The Dragon

What were Dragons? The strongest existences.

Not living things. Existences. In other words, they possessed power that exceeded even spirits and gods.

Once born from the world itself, they were beings that overthrew even the gods who ruled over people and nearly destroyed the world.

And yet, they were beings that protected the world.

Originally siding with neither humans nor the demon tribe, they simply existed. That was what Dragons were.

Occasionally appearing in history, they were troublesome beings that would destroy human countries.

In most such cases, the fault lay with the humans, though…

However.

Vargas had his doubts. Did such powerful creatures truly exist?

He had fought Sub-Dragons like Flying Dragons and Earth Dragons many times. And nowadays, excepting very old Sub-Dragons, he had the skill to defeat them without trouble.

Furthermore, he had these reliable comrades. The comrades he'd fought together with for ten years, as well as the newcomers, were all very dependable.

He believed that with these comrades, they could fight and defeat any demon.

Besides, there was solid proof that in recent years, a Dragon had been slain somewhere in the vicinity.

Moreover, their opponent was a young Dragon.

At ten meters long, it was actually much smaller than an adult Earth Dragon.

That was why he had underestimated it.

There was also the condition that this wasn't a fight to the death.

He had taken it too lightly. He had been foolish.

"Ooow!"

Receiving Vargas' greatsword, the Dragon counterattacked with its tail.

It was a reflexive counterattack from the pain. Therefore, it hadn't been able to hold back properly.

Vargas, who should have been strengthened to his limit with magic and Skills, was sent flying by a single blow.

His armor creaked, his bones shattered, and his internal organs were torn apart.

"It hurts! It hurts!"

The warriors who had been close were all sent flying, caught up in the Dragon's thrashing rampage.

Their magical defenses vanished from movements that looked pretty much like a temper tantrum.

Their physical defenses, even strengthened by Skills, were like sheets of paper.

That no one died was simply a matter of luck.

The ones left unharmed were the mages, Shar, Maal, and Shizuna. And Rudolph too.

Had the members not been wearing hard metal armor, they would have died instantly.

Healing magic flew toward the warriors who had sustained severe injuries.

Even after their wounds were healed, the only one who could stand back up was Vargas.

"Uuu, it hurts…"

Perhaps the pain had subsided after raging around for a while, as the Dragon plopped its belly onto the ground.

Then, it finally seemed to notice the situation around it and spoke in a troubled voice.

"I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Its tone sounded genuinely worried, leaving the mages who had been providing treatment dumbfounded.

Ria was the only one getting excited.

"As expected, want to fight with me?"

"Don't wanna. It hurts."

Looking at the spot where Vargas had put his full strength into his strike, the scales were cracked. But that was all. He hadn't reached the flesh at all.

"I accidentally went all out, but no one died, right?"

The Dragon tilted its head curiously. Its mannerisms were utterly human-like. And rather cute. Despite being large, it seemed like a small animal.

While Ria helped with healing the warriors, the Dragon kept watching the situation.

Everyone finally regained consciousness and lined up before the Dragon.

They decided to end the fight there. Mainly because it didn't look like they could win.

"Hey, Dragon-san. Are all Dragons as strong as you?"

"Grown Dragons are about the same as me. Dragon children are usually weaker."

Perhaps due to the fight, its tone had become friendly.

Taking a good look, it really was a cute Dragon. Its snout was rounded and it had button eyes.

"And you're not usual?"

The Dragon nodded at Vargas' question.

"My father is Clarice-chan and my mother is Valis-chan, so I was born strong."

They heard something marvelous.

Who was Clarice? The Golden Dragon, Clarice. Who was Valis? Undoubtedly the Dark Dragon, Valis.

Dark Dragon Valis was its mother.

Mother?

That incongruity rippled through all of the members, making them forget that the Dragon before them was of elite bloodline.

Casalia Kingdom's Founder Leyte Anaia was a woman. There was no doubt about that. Portraits and sculptures remained.

She became Dark Dragon Valis' wife and gave birth to the child who became the second generation's king. It wasn't legend, it was written in history books. The woman's own words had been preserved as well.

"Valis-sama was my only husband."

It was properly recorded in the official documents.

Ria was the one to ask.

"Can I have a moment?"

"Ah, yes."

Perhaps it was still afraid? The Dragon used polite speech with Ria.

"Is there another Dragon named Valis?"

"Dragons don't usually have names. We do accept names when associating with humans and such, though."

The answer differed slightly from the question.

"Well, the Dragon called Dark Dragon Valis by humans is your mother, right?"

"That is correct."

"But my ancestor's father was Dark Dragon Valis."

"What's strange about that?"

The Dragon tilted its head again, looking puzzled. Was it doing it on purpose, being so cute?

"Because that means Dark Dragon Valis is both a father and a mother."

"So Valis became a father to produce your ancestor, then became a mother to give birth to me."

The Dragon said something strange in a matter-of-fact tone.

Then, Serge had a flash of insight.

"Hey, Nee-chan."

Despite having the smallest body, his intuition was probably the sharpest among them. His thinking could take leaps.

"Could Dragons possibly be hermaphroditic creatures?"

"""Ooh!"""

Everyone cried out in amazement.

Hermaphroditic. In other words, having both a penis and a vagina. Being both male and female.

"Is that it!?"

"Sorry, I don't really understand what you're saying."

They didn't get the Dragon's agreement.

"So when producing your father or mother, Valis was male, and when making me, became female to bring out the Golden Dragon's bloodline."

"Are you a clownfish!?"

Though it was Serge who shouted this time, only Ria understood what he was talking about.

Ria, who had often watched public broadcasting in her previous life, had that knowledge.

Clownfish changed genders to match their environment to reproduce. That must be it.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Then, Ria understood as well.

She cried out involuntarily.

"I see, so that's what it was…"

She fell to her knees. She understood. Why had she been reincarnated as a woman?

She also understood why she hadn't menstruated even at fourteen years old.

This body looked like a woman but wasn't actually female.

"Kuaaah!"

She stood up, clutching her head. Even the members who were accustomed to Ria's eccentric actions had never seen this reaction before.

Ria whirled to face the Dragon again. Her expression was serious.

"Hey, by any chance, are all Dragons normally female?"

"Of course they are, but… ah, are humans different? Looks like they are."

Dragon-sans were all female.

"H-how do you become male!?"

"Eh, I don't know. I can't breed yet."

Ria fell to her knees again. But the answer seemed to be close at hand.

A faint laugh leaked from her lips.

"I can do this! Just a little more! You can do it, me!"

She stood up vigorously. No one around her could keep up with these intense ups and downs.

"I'll ask Dark Dragon Valis the rest! Now! Open the gate!"

"Ah, okay."

While overwhelmed, the Dragon chanted an incantation.

The huge gate was finally opened before Ria.